– Aline Brachet, Consultant (France), RURENER Treasurer –
RURENER was born in 2011 from the strong willingness of rural mayors to demonstrate that collective learning, small tiny initiatives all around Europe and solidarity could transform the role and impact of rural actors and territories. This is the vision I have for RURENER in the future: to reinforce rural communities, men, women and organizations, by mobilizing their full potential. To achieve this vision, RURENER is transforming itself into a pragmatic start-up, dedicated to social, technical and political innovation in rural energy. Networking, learning and sharing are its core principles, and human energy its renewable source. Looking forward to the next steps with such an exciting potential!”
– Céline Seince, European Coordinator of RURENER –
“I like to think of the energy transition as an opportunity, especially for rural areas because they have great potential, both natural and human. Their restricted size and means should not prevent them from seizing this opportunity. Supporting rural communities committed to the energy transition is what RURENER was created for from the very beginning. Today, the world is changing at an unprecedented speed, but RURENER remains a strong network allowing rural stakeholders from all over Europe to get together and achieve great things.”
– Tibor Köcse, Mayor of Nagypali (Hungary), RURENER President –
“RURENER embraces a cooperative relationship system, stimulates and supports energy efficiency and carbon neutrality actions in rural areas. The communities that have joined RURENER have different experiences. One of the major benefits of membership is that it enables rural communities to exchange their experiences, to transfer their knowledge, to learn from each other and to promote their own community through mentoring programs and twin city activities.”
– Philippe Cortès, CEO of Granges Solaires (France), RURENER Vice-president –
“The RURENER project immediately seduced me because of its dimension and ambition. It is not common to see small rural communities brought together at the European level. RURENER is the connection between local actions in Europe, it opens new doors for rural communities and invites a European dialogue, in a variety of languages. It is always surprising to see what RURENER can achieve with very little means, thanks to the strong will and innovation spirit of its members. The sharing of good practices within the network enriches each member’s experience. Too often separated from the European level where decisions are made, these exchanges are very precious in rural areas. RURENER expresses a concrete and optimistic vision of rural Europe, often missing in the vision of European decision-makers. I am glad to be part of it. It is worth it!”
– Vassiliki Kazana, Professor at EMaTTech (Greece), RURENER Secretary –
“RURENER is an excellent networking opportunity for rural communities, organizations and individual experts to collaborate in order to establish energy-neutral local initiatives that contribute to sustainable rural development. How I would like RURENER to be in the future? A strong voice on rural energy issues across Europe, that will continue to promote collaboration and knowledge transfer through the sharing of experiences, innovative actions and best practices!”